The Captive Muse: On Creativity and Its Inhibition (Paperback)

~ (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Account of what writers and teachers of writing face as resistances in their own and their students' work. Explores ways writers begin to talk with themselves about the complex experience of not being able to write creatively. Central tenet is that creative work is not allied with but rather blocked by psychopathology. Softcover.

Product Details

• Paperback: 154 pages
• Publisher: Psychosocial Press; 1st edition (November 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 188784127X
• ISBN-13: 978-1887841276
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,414,880 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Freeing the Muse, May 23, 2000

By A Customer

The Captive Muse is a fresh and remarkable look at the creative process and its inhibition -- the nightmarish experience known as writer's or creative block. Susan Kolodny, a psychologist by profession and a poet by avocation, analyzes the various causes of creative block and explores ways by which artists might free themselves and release their creative powers. She addresses prevailing attitudes of the general public and some mental health professionals -- both of which frequently consider art and the making of art to be superfluous activities at best, and symptoms of mental illness at worst -- and in clear, graceful prose guides the reader through the many hazards littering the artist's path. The book is profound and meaningful and triggered all kinds of insights for this reader. A must for anyone engaged in the making of art, and a powerful tool those whose art is a life lived thoughtfully and well.

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem of a Book, June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This is a gem of a book. In it, Dr. Kolodny gives us an opportunity to listen and think with her as she tracks the elusive process of creativity and the many ways it can be hindered. In clear and rich detail she shares with us the breadth of her experience as both a therapist and a poet, and she shows us that there are so many ways to understand and open up these blocks. In this slim volume there is an abundance. It is a thoughtful and generous book. Enjoy!

Emily S. Brewer,M.D.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Gem of a Book, June 26, 2000

By A Customer

This is a gem of a book. In it, Dr. Kolodny gives us an opportunity to listen and to think with her as she tracks the elusive process of creativity and the many ways it can be hindered. In clear and rich detail she shares with us the breadth of her experience as both a therapist and a poet,and she shows us that there are so many ways to understand and open up these blocks. In this slim volume there is an abundance. It is thoughtful and generous book. Enjoy! Emily S. Brewer, M.D.